Rail Road Back On Track

The Long Island Rail Road will be back at full strength this week after running on a reduced schedule to facilitate repairs and rebuild infrastructure at Penn Station.

The LIRR has been operating 260 rush hour trains daily, limited by a reduction of track availability due to Amtrak’s work. As of Tuesday, September 3, the LIRR will restore 14 trains, for a rush hour total of 274 trains, a 5.4-percent increase.

“We’re very pleased that Amtrak expects to conclude their important work over this long weekend, which is right on the timetable they had provided,” said LIRR President Phillip Eng. “This allows us to restore full rush hour service for our customers, as we had promised.”

Some trains rerouted to Atlantic Avenue will now once again depart from and terminate at Penn Station.

The 6:18 AM train from Speonk to Penn Station will depart three minutes later at 6:21 AM, and will no longer stop at Massapequa Park, Massapequa, or Seaford.

The 3:05 PM Monday through Friday train from Speonk to Jamaica will operate only on Fridays through October 11.

The 4:52 PM South Fork Commuter Connection train from Montauk to Hampton Bays will be extended one stop further to Westhampton.

Eastbound, the 6:13 AM South Fork Commuter Connection train from Speonk to Amagansett will depart three minutes later, at 6:16 AM.

The 12:46 PM Monday through Friday train from Jamaica to Speonk will operate only on Fridays through October 11, departing at 12:31 PM.

The 6:27 PM train from Penn Station to Speonk will no longer operate as a direct dual-mode train Monday through Thursday. Instead, this train will operate as a single level electric train from Penn Station to Babylon, where customers will connect with the Speonk-bound train.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com